Your intro to the Touhou universe

[Fireaxe]

Geometry Wars!

That's it, I finally remembered lol
http://youtube.com/watch?v=_CpRyYgpGUA&feature=related


Screenshots

It's not quite the same thing, but the idea is similar.

[Muramasa]

Hey, sorry for having the clarify, I was on a computer that couldn't download anything (work).
And yes, this looks awesome, I'm looking forward to downloading them. :)

Btw, how easy is it to play multiplayer? Direct connect, is it through an online server?

[purplemo]

Originally Posted by Muramasa

Hey, sorry for having the clarify, I was on a computer that couldn't download anything (work).
And yes, this looks awesome, I'm looking forward to downloading them. :)

Btw, how easy is it to play multiplayer? Direct connect, is it through an online server?

It's pretty easy to set up multiplayer, though I haven't played multiplayer in a year or so and have not set up Caster (the program to play multiplayer) since I last did a fresh re-install because the Meilin patch wasn't working for me.

I don't believe there is a dedicated server (I don't know if tasfro has the resources for that), but it is REASONABLY similar to online gaming on consoles and computers (at least when I last played online on a computer). You can host a game or watch (which was always interesting or boring as hell). If you want to set up matches, you'll need IRC and find players in channels dedicated to the game (like computer games). There are "rules" (which I think is built into Caster now) such as certain levels are off-limits because the coloring makes certain bullets REALLY hard to see (and thus gives advantages/disadvantages) and when Remi is selected you can't pick daytime (since she's a vampire).

Since IaMP has such a bigger fanbase than most Touhou games (except for probably IN), there's a dedicated wiki for it here

http://iamp.mizuumi.net/index.php/Main_Page

This will answer most of your questions. If in doubt, head over to the channel. It'll also teach you the basics of IaMP.

One note which I know most noobs to Touhou don't know that will make things MUCH easier in the danmaku games is grazing. Your hitbox IS SMALLER THAN YOUR CHARCTER SPRITE!! Meaning you can graze bullets that are close to you or ON your sprite without dying. This adds points, which can add to extra lives.

In IaMP, grazing is THE ONLY WAY YOU WILL EVER WIN THE GAME ON ANYTHING OTHER THAN EASY, otherwise you'll die to chip damage. You can go THROUGH bullets by grazing. Just read the IaMP wiki to see what grazing is in this game (different than the danmaku games). If you try to play a human without knowing grazing, your ass will be handed to you EVERY SINGLE TIME. And for the love of god, do not pick Alice. You will get killed every single time. Only the very best of the best can use her to her full potential (and even they have trouble). If you pick her, it'll be the most boring fight ever.

Here are the new tiers based on the last Japanese tournament

* A Tier

*
o 56.5 - Marisa Kirisame
o 56.0 - Sakuya Izayoi

* B Tier

*
o 52.0 - Alice Margatroid
o 52.0 - Remilia Scarlet
o 51.5 - Yukari Yakumo
o 51.0 - Suika Ibuki

* C Tier

*
o 48.5 - Youmu Konpaku
o 48.5 - Reimu Hakurei
o 47.5 - Yuyuko Saigyouji

* D Tier

*
o 46.5 - Patchouli Knowledge
o 42.0 - Hong Meirin

Some of those Alice players are just plain amazing. I agree mostly (though I think Reimu should be higher). Use that backbone. It pretty much follows easy to learn to hard to learn characters for the most part.

[Cetonis]

Hey, I was just wondering if there was any particular order or level of offical-ness to the doujinshi... couldn't seem to find a good faq-type thing.

[purplemo]

Originally Posted by Cetonis

Hey, I was just wondering if there was any particular order or level of offical-ness to the doujinshi... couldn't seem to find a good faq-type thing.

Please explain a bit more your q, because right now it's a bit vague to me and I'm sure you don't really feel like reading another page long post.

Edit: Ah, you mean the manga doujinishi right (I've run into WAY too many people who use doujin and doujinshi interchangeably either one way (like me) or both ways) right? Anyhoo, I'll wait to get a clarification cuz this response could get huge if you just mean all doujin material of the Touhou universe.

[Cetonis]

yea, the manga. I see some are made by Zun, so I assume those are 'canon' of a sort, but are there others that serve as "official" stories, or de-facto canon? I'm figuring with the sheer volume of doujin manga out there, there are probably some that conflict each other backstory-wise, etc. so I'm wondering which are taken to be the "true" stories.

I'm also unsure if there's an order that they should be read in... I started reading Silent Sinner in Blue on that Gaku Gaku site without realizing it was on of the new ones that hasn't even finished yet >.<

[purplemo]

Anything by ZUN or Aki Eda (the illustrator for Silent Sinner in Blue) or others with ZUN are canon. However there are also canon doujin not by ZUN. Your best bet would be to go to the Touhouwiki and see what doujin were printed in the official books as not all of them have ZUN credited.

As for reading the doujin, it helps to have played or know the story of some of the games (ESPECIALLY Imperishable Night as many doujin are prequel, sequel, or use stuff from it. And it does have a translated patch) as well as some of the characters. I would recommend if you want to enjoy the doujin read the character info on the Touhouwiki (not the game descriptions of the characters but the little blurb in the beginning) of the following characters

Reimu
Marisa
Hong Meilin
Cirno
Sakuya
Patchouli
Remilia
Flandre
Yukari
Yuyuko
Youmu
Reisen
Tewi
Alice (if you think that's a lot you've got to remember there is probably close to 100 or more characters)

especially if you've never played the games since these ones show up a lot. Knowing the relationship between Mokou and Kaguya and Kaguya and the moon would be good too. If nothing else, be ready to hit the Touhouwiki when you read the doujin so you don't get completely lost. Here are a few facts to keep in mind (canon)

- There is no official story about Sakuya's past or name
- Marisa and Reimu are humans, Sakuya probably is, and that's it for the humans
- Yukari is probably the most powerful youkai in Gensokyo (with the possible exception of Yuka) and created the boundary
- Mystia didn't get eaten as she showed up in Touhou 9 after being eaten
- Reisen doesn't really attack with suppositories
- The 9 in a circle is an "in-house" joke about Cirno
- There is no official story about Yukari and Maribel (Mary)

Just to note, there is A LOT of crap doujin so don't be discouraged because there are actually a lot of good ones. And just because they look dark doesn't mean they are and vice versa. Other than that there's not too much reason to read any doujin in any order.

FYI, Silent Sinner in Blue would take place (at least) after Imperishable Night.

As for some of the better doujin, I'd recommend

Winter of the Residents of a Touhou Town (Best non-canon Sakuya past story)
Clover and Promise (A good semi-to-the-truth story of Yukari and Yuyuko's past)
Miko Miko Suika (fun and really tells you about Reimu's personality)
Imperishable Night Rewrite (gives you a bare bones basics of what happened if you didn't play IN. Not all of it is true)
What Do You Watch When You Jump (Basically explains how Reisen came to Gensokyo)
We Are Prismriver (Best non-canon story of Layla Prismriver and her sisters)
Suika in Yakumo Family (Nice story, but you might want to know a bit about Suika first)
Advent Cirno (Cirno as Cloud in FFVII-like world, Marisa as Yuffie, and others)
Yagokoro Syndrome (explains Eirin and Kaguya)
Spring of the Residents of a Touhou Town (good showing of everyday life with these crazy girls. This is good to get their personalities)

There's more, but those are nice primers/explanations. Gensokyo has a better selection of doujin and official ZUN works than GGAL BTW.

Well, that was a long post anyways. :p

[Cetonis]

Oh, I've played the games, and probably read all the wiki bios at one point or another. Just wanted to know the basics of manga-land.

Incidentally, the IN patch broke my game >.< Could be Vista, or is there a sub-driectory it needs to be in? I just put it in the same folder as the game, then the .exe would no longer open.

[purplemo]

Some basics about the girls

Reimu - LAZY!!!!
Marisa - THIEF!!!
Patchouli - HIKKI!!!
Cirno - IDIOT!!! (even ZUN calls her one)
Yukari - Ditzy and sleeps all day
Yuyuko - Often referred to as Yuyucow because her hitbox is big --> she's fat (made up by fans). A complete glutton
Ran, Youmu, Reisen - The only sane characters who are servants of idiots
Flandre - PSYCHO!!!
Suika - DRUNK!!!
Alice, Hong Meilin - very very abused characters
Tewi - liar
Sakuya and Youmu - S&M in some doujins. I don't know why (not sexual, just that kind of relationship)
Fairies in general - childish, kinda dumb, pranksters.

Almost everyone has some weird little quirk about them

[purplemo]

Originally Posted by Cetonis

Oh, I've played the games, and probably read all the wiki bios at one point or another. Just wanted to know the basics of manga-land.

Incidentally, the IN patch broke my game >.< Could be Vista, or is there a sub-driectory it needs to be in? I just put it in the same folder as the game, then the .exe would no longer open.

Could be Vista. However try a completely fresh install/download from doujinsoft instead. Their versions tend to be the most trouble free (and can play off of a dat file so you don't need to install most of the time). Also the English patch tends to be built into their versions.